Faceless
by The Samurai Prince
Summary: [Now a collaboration with Jack Coffison] Dipper and Mabel are back for another Summer vacation at Gravity Falls. However, while catching up with old friends, strange occurrences have been happening, such as people gone missing, while something dangerous is lurking in the woods. But what is it? And what does it want? (GF/Slender crossover. Dipifica with some Wendip moments.)
1. The Man In The Woods

****Well, hello again! Glad to see you've clicked on this story! :D Here's the rebooted version of "Faceless"! Now, I know what you're thinking, "WHAT!? YOU DECIDED TO REBOOT IT ANYWAYS!? NOOOOOO!", but hey, I'm sorry, I just think it needs it. Besides, people PMed me saying that that was fine. As for the Wendip fans, don't worry, there'll still be some hints here and there…but um…the endgame pairing will still be Dipifica-DON'T KILL ME! (shields himself from oncoming tomatoes…until I realize that I'm basically typing to a screen and not an actual person which means I'm safe inside my own home…) …Um…anyways, what's different here is of course the story! Which I will tell right now! So strap in for a wild ride, folks! Hope you all enjoy this reboot of "Faceless"! :D****

 ** **Oh! Also, Stanford will be in this to make things more interesting! And just to let you know, this is a year after Weirdmageddon. ;)****

 ** **Now for the disclaimer, once again! 8D****

 ** **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls and Slender. GF is property of Alex Hirsch and Disney. Slender is property of Parsec Productions/Blue Isle Studios/and Something Awful forums. I hope that clears everything up! :D****

 ** **[UPDATE: I think I have a good plot to use in this story, so stay tuned everyone, as I try to get back to writing this! :D ]****

* * *

… ** **Faceless…****

* * *

"Aaaaawwwww yea- _ _yah!__ We're almost to Gravity Falls!" exclaimed Mabel excitedly.

"To the girl at the third row seats, please calm down." The bus driver monotonously announced on his speaker radio, even though her and her twin brother were the only ones in the bus.

"NEVEEEER!" Mabel exclaimed once more.

"Mabel, I kind of agree with the bus driver. I mean, I'm excited as well, but I'm not bouncing-off-the-walls excited." Dipper said, trying to calm her down.

"What!? You should be!" Mabel shouted at her brother in shock, "We get to see Grunkle Stan and Ford, Candy, Grenda, Soos, and even Pacifica! Plus, there's __Weeendy__!" she teased Dipper with playful wagging eyebrows.

Dipper blushed, but countered back saying, "What about __Gideon__?" he asked with a smirk.

Mabel just stared at him with a disapproving blank stare. "…Not funny bro."

Dipper chuckled.

"NOT FUNNY!"

"Oink!"

"You tell him, Waddles!" Mabel said to her pet pig, who sat next to her from outside the seat.

Dipper still smirked, rolling his eyes at his sister's excitement.

The twins were riding in the travel bus back to their destination; Gravity Falls. Previously said, they were excited to go back there, as a year has passed, making them still thirteen(at least until the end of their Summer vacation). Dipper and Mabel couldn't wait to meet up with their Grunkles, Soos, Wendy, and all of the other residents in the town, as well catch up to any new mysteries that were present in Gravity Falls.

They both also grew a bit after they left, their teenage bodies catching up to them. Dipper lost a little bit of his baby fat on his face, making him a handsome young man, his hair grew a little longer to his shoulders, and grew a foot tall, which made him a little lanky, but also have some slight lean muscle on his arms. He's been taking kickboxing lessons back home at Piedmont and has been doing good there recently. He might be able to spar with Stan to see how much he improved over the year. He's certainly more confident during the passing year ever since learning how to defend himself…however, when it comes to girls, that's a whole different other story. His attire has changed as well, wearing a red and white plaid shirt jacket, with a black shirt underneath it, and dark jeans along with tracker shoes. The headgear that he was wearing on his head was none other than Wendy's trapper hat, as he kept it on his head as a keepsake from his red-headed crush.

Mabel also grew a foot tall, and is the same height as Dipper(believe it or not, she wasn't a centimeter taller than him, which made her a little disappointed). Her looks have changed drastically as well, the first thing noticeable that her braces were gone. Her hair was still long, and her face still remained cute, even with the baby fat gradually going away. She was still wearing sweaters(this particular sweater that she was wearing now said in bold colorful letters 'WE'RE BACK!'), but instead of a skirt, she was wearing some skinny jeans, and some pink converse shoes.

The bus was almost to their required bus stop destination, and Dipper had to admit, he was bouncing in his seat as well.

Mabel noticed. "What ever happened to 'not bouncing-off-the-walls' excited?" she said as she grinned.

"Hey, I'm not. I'm bouncing off my seat." Dipper stated like it was obvious.

"Aw man, was that supposed to be a joke? Booo." Mabel said with rolled eyes.

"We are now approaching Gravity Falls, Oregon." announced the bus driver.

"WOO-HOO!" Mabel yelled.

"Yeah…thank goodness." The bus driver muttered.

"Isn't this exciting, Waddles!? We get to see Grunkle Stan and Ford! Along with all of our friends!" Mabel said to her pet pig enthusiastically.

"Oink, oink!"

"I __know,__ right!?"

Dipper smiled at his sister and turned to the window that was next to him. __'Yeah…it's going to be awesome…'__

He stared out the window with the same smile on his face, looking at the passing trees in the woods…

…until his smile was gone, replaced by a look of confusion.

' _ _What?'__

Mabel turned to look at her twin brother to see his bothered face. "Hey, Dip. You okay?"

Dipper snapped out of his trance and turned to look at Mabel who looked confused herself. "Um…yeah." He said as he looked back out the window.

Mabel raised an eyebrow. Then, thinking that she figured out what the problem is, smiled at her brother and said, "You know, if you're thinking about Wendy, then don't worry bro. I'm certain you'll impress her with those kickboxing moves!"

"No, um…it's not that." Dipper said, a little uneasy.

Mabel raised her other brow, "Really? Then what's wrong?"

"…Um…Mabel, did you see something just a while ago out the window?" Dipper asked turning to his sister.

Mabel blinked, but grinned sweetly, "No, but I'm certain that what you saw could just be the gnomes or manotuars. We __are__ in Gravity Falls now, remember?"

"Well…yeah, but it looked…" Dipper paused at his statement as he looked at his sister's face, her happy expression fading when she sees her brother's thoughtful and bothered look on his. __'No…I shouldn't tell her what I saw. Heck, it could just be my imagination.'__ He chuckled, "You know what? You're right. It might could've been just the gnomes being weird or something."

"Okay…" Mabel still wasn't convinced however, "But…what __did__ you saw?"

"Oh, nothing. It looked like some guy in a business suit, but it could be the gnomes dressing up as one. The guy looked like he had a scraggly beard."

"Really?" Mabel curiously asked. Her smile returned back to normal. "Haha! That does sound like something they would do! I bet they stole the suit trying to steal pies out people's windows while no one was looking!" she laughed, "You know, I bet they would look cute in little business suits."

"You better not let them hear that." Dipper said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Mabel laughed as she gave him a shove.

Dipper laughed as well. He turned to the window to look out again…but his lips were pursed into a line, looking as if he's thinking about something.

What he saw didn't look like the gnomes…in fact, what he saw was too slim to be the gnomes...and tall.

It did wear a business suit, a black one at that, but it was also equipped with a red tie. But the most noticeable feature was what the creature lacked…

…a face. The head contained a simple, pale, white faceless…face.

...What was that?

* * *

 ** **WELP, another prologue made! Just to get you all started! ;D****

 ** **I hope this new reboot version is better than the last one! Again, sorry for deleting that one, I just feel like it's better if I start fresh again with this concept. Believe me, it WILL get creepy in the future. I may even redo the found footage scene! ;D****

 ** **Also, sorry if this chapter was so short, but hey, it was the prologue chapter! Kind of like my other GF story "It Will Never Leave You", which I AM writing the second chapter right now, by the way. The next chapter for this one will be longer(as well as next chapter of IWNLY), so don't worry. ;)****

 ** **Well, I hope you enjoyed this so far and see the promise in it! I love to hear what you think, so give me a review! Or, you can follow or fave! Either one is fine! Just so that you enjoyed it! X)****

 ** **Keep on rocking everyone! See ya! :D****

 ** **-TSP****


	2. Back Again

**Here it is is folks. The second chapter...finally. XP**

 **[EDIT: 7/1/2017]**

* * *

The sun had yet to rise over the town of Gravity Falls, when Soos suddenly sprang out of bed. His sudden movement was enough to jostle the entire bed, stirring his girlfriend, Melody, out of a deep sleep. With heavy eyelids, Melody gave Soos a look.

"Honey? What're you doing?" she asked.

Soos was in the middle of changing into his 'Mister Mystery' costume, when he suddenly turned to face her. In his excitement, he had managed to tangle himself into a big knot. "Today's the day, Mel!" he exclaimed. "I gotta fix the pipes! A-And patch up that guy-shaped hole in the ceiling! Cut the jib-jab! Raise the sails!"

Melody raised an eyebrow. "Soos..."

"I gotta make sure all the exhibits are in tip-top shape! The shack has to be perfect for when-" Soos was suddenly cut off mid-sentence when he slipped on a sock, and was sent tumbling to the floor.

"Ow...dude..." he whimpered.

Melody offered him a sympathetic smile as she helped him to his feet. "Soos...Sweetheart...You did all of that stuff yesterday. Don't you remember?" she asked.

"Yeah, but what if I didn't do it right? I gotta check it again. And then again. And, maybe...just maybe...again." Soos said a little awkwardly.

Melody chuckled and asked, "Don't you think you're over-reacting a little? Working yourself into a panic like this?"

Soos shook his head. "Nu-uh. This is the day! The first big visit from Dipper and Mabel for over a year! Wha-...what if they don't like what I did with the Mystery Shack? What if they don't like the new exhibits!? Like the karate-werewolf, or the spider with a top hat! It took me a whole day to come up with that one!" he exclaimed.

Melody placed a hand on Soos' shoulder, and guided him to take a seat on the bed. "Take a deep breath..." she said softly.

Soos did as he was instructed.

"Sweetheart, you know that Dipper and Mabel would love anything that you've made for the Shack." said Melody.

Soos sighed. "...Yeah, maybe...but...it won't be the same..." he muttered.

Melody moved a little closer to him, and wrapped her arms around him. "Come on, Soos. They'll be as proud as I am with what you've done for the Shack. I know it."

Soos began to smile warmly, and wrapped his arms around Melody to embrace her as well. "Ah, Mel...I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have you as my soon-to-be wife."

Melody giggled, "And I'm the luckiest girl ever to have such a lovable big-hearted man to be my soon-to-be husband."

Soos gave Melody an appreciative squeeze and let go of his fiance. "Thanks Melody. Your encouragement has once again made me feel so relieved and better."

Melody winked and raised a finger to tap his nose. "Anytime, Sweetheart."

Soos chuckled. The door to their bedroom however opened up, letting the two of them turn to it.

Abuelita opened their door and entered their room, saying, "Soos? Melody? Is everything okay in here?"

"Grandma!" Soos exclaimed, " _Please_ knock first! Who knows if Melody and I could be having an intimate moment!"

"Oh do not worry, my Soos, you're waiting for when you get married, I know." Abuelita said as he nodded with a sweet smile.

Soos blinked, "Uh...yeah, but...how would you know about that in general?"

Abuelita's eyes widened in realization on she said, "Well...I know you're a good boy, so I thought it was obvious you would wait until you get...married... _anyways_ , just don't be too loud." And with that, she exited and closed the door.

The couple both blinked. Melody turned to Soos and asked him, "Do you think your Grandmother is reading your diary?"

"Hey, it's a journal!" Soos defended himself, "And come on Mel, my Grandma respects my privacy."

Melody raised an eyebrow, "Well...okay. In the meantime, I do agree with Abuelita; don't be loud while working. And also, don't try to overwork yourself."

Soos smiled at his fiance, "Will do, Mel! And in the meantime yourself, you sleep that beautiful face of yours off! ...W-Well, I mean, not _really_ sleep your _face_ _off_. That would be pretty, uh... _bad_ if you slept your face...right off. I mean, you wouldn't even have a face! And that would be creepy...I-I mean, I would still love you either way, I just meant-"

Melody laughed, "Soos, don't worry. I understand!" she then gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Go out there and be 'Mister Mystery'."

Soos smiled warmly as Melody, "I love you, Sweetie."

"Love you too." Melody winked.

And so Soos got up, exit out of their bedroom and proceed to fix up the Shack.

* * *

A few hours later, Melody woke up to the sound of a high pitched shriek. Living in the Mystery Shack, this wasn't particularly unusual. As she laid there in bed, the shrieking continued until it seemed to shake the entire shack. With a heavy sigh, Melody made her way out of bed and towards the window- silently hoping that there hadn't been another Gremloblin attack.

Outside, she could see a group of gnomes standing on a make-shift stage, holding various instruments. One of them appeared to be testing the microphone, while the rest of them stood around talking among themselves. Soos was standing in front of them, with his arms crossed.

"What'd I just say, dude? No death metal!" he exclaimed.

One of the gnomes scoffed. "You can't silence Shmebulock and the Shmebu-tones!"

"Shmebulock!"

"Yeah! You tell 'im Shmebulock!"

Soos sighed. "Well can you at least practice a little quieter, dude? Melody's trying to sleep." he asked.

"Never! Rock the system!"

"Shme-...Shmebulock!"

Melody smiled a little, as she opened the window. "Soos!" she called out.

Soos jumped at the sound of her voice, and looked up to see her leaning out the bedroom window. "Oh! Morning, Mel! Sorry- I tried to tell 'em to keep it down, but they just keep responding with protest slogans!"

"Stick it to the man!"

"Rage against the machine!"

" _Shmebulock_!"

Melody waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. Hey, have you had the time to have breakfast yet?" she asked.

As if on cue, Soos stomach produced a rumble so loud that it appeared to shake the stage that the gnomes were standing on. "Uh...no." he said.

Melody smiled. "Well why don't you come inside and I'll whip something up. You can't prepare a big welcome party on an empty stomach, right?" she asked.

"Sure! Thanks, Mel!" said Soos.

At the sound of 'breakfast', all of the Gnomes suddenly stood at full attention. One of the gnomes carefully cleared his throat. "Uh...Mister Soos? I don't, uh...I don't suppose we could...I don't know...join you? Just-...Just for a little bit?" he asked. At that, all of the gnomes carefully took off their gnome-caps and held them to their chests as they gave Soos their very best puppy-dog pouts.

Except for Shmebulock, who appeared to be staring off into space.

Soos rubbed his chin. "Well...I think we've got some extra cereal lying around from that time I tried to collect a hundred box-tops to win a prize...I wound up winning a yo-yo. It was totally worth it, dude."

The gnomes collectively pumped their fists into the air. "Score!"

As the gnomes scurried inside, Soos chuckled at the creatures, "Heh, they certainly are a bunch of funny little critters."

As he was about to go back inside, he suddenly froze. Everything around him seemed to go still, as a cold chill ran through the air. Soos blinked. His chest began to tighten, and his heartbeat quickly sped up. He quickly turned to face the forest, and lifted his eye patch as he scanned the area.

There was nothing there but trees and bushes.

Soos cleared his throat. "Uh...hello? Somethin' there?"

Silence.

Soos stood there, rooted to the ground, for at least a few more minutes. Eventually, the moment seemed to pass, leaving Soos to wonder briefly if he had imagined the whole thing.

With a light shrug, Soos made his way back to the Mystery Shack.

* * *

Wendy Corduroy took a deep breath as she stepped out of the Thompson's mom's van. It had been a few weeks since the last time she had visited the Mystery Shack. All of her time was being spent either helping her father at the lumber yard, or studying. Whenever she had spare time, she usually spent it with friends. Or going on the occasional date.

But no matter how busy her life became, she still tried her best to find time to travel to the Mystery Shack and hang out with Soos and Melody. Sometimes she'd be there as a part time employee, but most of the time, she was there simply as a friend.

"Hey, Wendy? Are you gonna just spend the whole day standing around? The big guys waving at you." said Robbie as he got out of the van.

Wendy ignored him, as all of her other friends were getting out of the van. Lee, Nate and Thompson were all talking and laughing among themselves, while Tambry remained glued to her phone.

"Wendy!" exclaimed Soos, as he raced toward her. "I'm so glad you could make it, dude!"

Wendy smiled. "Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world." she said.

"Hey, big dude! Where do you want us to take all these snacks and junk?" asked Lee.

Soos thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "I dunno. Bring it inside! Everyone's still settin' up stuff everywhere else, and I think we've got a little bit of time before we start spreadin' out the food." he said.

"Cool. Hey Thompson! I bet you can't snort this bag of chilli flavored pork rinds!" exclaimed Lee.

"Oh, yeah?" exclaimed Thompson.

While Thompson was writhing in pain, everyone else got to work moving the snacks into the house. They had managed to get quite the haul for the big 'Welcome Back' party. But as they set everything down in the shack, Wendy began to wonder if it would be enough.

There were magical creatures everywhere. Most of them were outside, but just at a glance, she could see dozens of familiar faces. There were Manataurs setting up what they called a 'manly barbecue', which appeared to include a set of dinosaur sized ribs. Multibear was helping to spread streamers and balloons across the front of the Mystery Shack, there were a group of Lilliputtians helping to inflate an enormous bouncing castle, and there were even a few unicorns lying around trading snide remarks.

Everywhere she looked, she saw creatures of all shapes and sizes working together to throw a party for the Mystery Twins.

Wendy couldn't help but smile at the site of it.

"This is going to be the best 'Welcome Back' party in the history of the universe." said Wendy.

Soos walked up beside her as he beamed with pride. "Uh-huh! I've been up since before sunrise trying to get it all together! I'm exhausted!" he exclaimed, with happy grin.

Wendy gave him a pat on the back. "Well, try to stay up on your feet, Soos my boy! Everyone else'll be here any minute. Not to mention the guests of honor." she said.

Soos stood up straight, and gave her a salute. "Yes ma'am!" he exclaimed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I uh...gotta go make sure the Gnomes and the Manataurs don't try and start another war."

As Soos moved to leave, Wendy suddenly stopped him. "Wait, hold up. Have you...I mean, have you heard anything from Stan and Ford?" she asked.

"Oh! Uh...no. But they said they'd be back really soon for Dipper and Mabel's welcome back party! They promised two days ago! ...That was, uh...two days ago...I-I mean, I'm sure they're just off havin' some kind of incredible adventure. Oh! Maybe they're planning a great special entrance, with acrobat moves, lasers, explosions and everything!" said Soos with excitedly, almost as if he's trying to reassure himself.

Wendy frowned. "Oh. Uh...okay."

Soos cringed at Wendy's uncertain expression and tone, "H-Hey, I wouldn't worry, Wendy! I'm certain they'll come back here just in time! I mean, they really love those little dudes! " Soos reassured.

"Well..." Wendy looked a little wary, but she smirked, shook her head, chuckled and shrugged, "Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe that's what's going on."

"Yeah!" Soos said a little relieved. He then heard a little crash outside and turned to the commotion, "Whuh-oh!" he turned to Wendy, "Uh, got to go!" he then turned back to the noise, "Dudes! We don't need a war right now! _Restrain_ _yourselves_!"

As Soos raced outside, Wendy's friends separated into smaller groups. Lee, Nate and Thompson went off to join the Manataurs and stare with gaping jaws at the incredible line up of dinosaur meat they had brought. Robbie and Tambry walked off hand in hand, doing their best to look uninterested in each other.

Leaving Wendy to sit on the porch all by herself.

 _'I wonder where Stan and Ford are?'_ Wendy thought to herself. She did felt that they could handle themselves, but she's getting kind of worried.

Luckily, she didn't have enough time to ponder about it, as another car parked in front of the Mystery Shack. Followed by another, and another. Wendy smiled, as she watched Old Man McGucket being let out of a limousine by his driver. He was wearing a lab coat over a suit, but it looked like it had been run through a shredder. Pieces of it were scorched black, while others still appeared to be on fire.

After the Mystery Twins had left, McGucket had found an enormous fortune in selling his hastily assembled robots and machines. Before too long, he had single-handedly become one of the worlds leading technology developers. It hadn't changed him much, though. He was still prone to twitched and sporadic fits of ham-boning. All in all, he just seemed...happy.

Once Melody had calmly approached him with a fire extinguisher and put him out, McGucket made a beeline for the Gnomes, and quickly began a vigorous scientific debate with Schmebulock.

The next car was what could only be described as a 'hippie van'. Not just for it's make an model, but for the remarkable set of rainbows, flower patterns and peace symbols that were painted all over it. The van doors slid open to reveal Candy and Grenda. They were both a little taller now. Candy had tied her hair into a bun, and she was wearing a shirt with puppies shooting lasers out of their eyes on it and a pair of jeans.

Grenda had long, braided hair- and she was wearing a tie dye shirt and long jeans.

"Thanks, mom!" exclaimed Grenda, as she hopped out of the van.

"Thank you, Mrs. Grenda." said Candy, as she followed suit.

"Ya'll 're welcome, my precious lil' gem stones. Have a groovy ol' time!" came a voice from inside the van.

Just as the van peeled off into the distance, a new car arrived. This one was an expensive looking convertible with tinted windows, making it impossible to see inside. Once it stopped, Pacifica Northwest hopped out of it. Without saying so much as a word, the car immediately drove away, leaving Pacifica to stand there all alone. She was a little taller, too. Her hair was long and perfectly straightened, and she was wearing a white jacket over a long purple dress.

Pacifica had only been standing there for about a moment, before she was suddenly swarmed by Grenda and Candy.

"Oooh! Pacifica! Long time no see! I thought you wound up going to some kinda boarding school in California or something!" exclaimed Grenda.

"I didn't. I was just living in California for a time." said Pacifica curtly and monotonously. Her somewhat cold reply was seemingly lost on Grenda and Candy, as they continued to barrage her with questions while she tried her best to answer some. All of a sudden, the sound of a helicopter filled the air. It was quite at first, but it very quickly grew louder and louder.

Grenda, Candy and Pacifica looked up to find the helicopter hovering far above them. All of a sudden, a rope ladder was thrown down from the helicopter, and a figure grabbed it and slid down in a hurry.

"Marius!" exclaimed Grenda, as Marius von Fundshauser jumped off the end of the ladder and dusted himself off. Marius was Grenda's extremely rich foreign boyfriend. He was dressed in what looked like royal attire, complete with an array of medals pinned on his chest.

Grenda quickly enveloped him in a bone crushing hug, as the helicopter flew away.

"Marius!" she exclaimed mid-squeeze. "I'm so glad you made it!"

"Uh- O-of course, mein love..." Marius wheezed, as he struggled to breath under Grenda's all encompassing embrace.

Since Grenda and Candy appeared distracted, Pacifica pulled out a long purple scarf and wrapped it around her head - apparently in an effort to disguise herself. Then, she rushed toward the Mystery Shack to find a place to lay low. Wendy watched all of this with only a passing curiosity. She hadn't heard anything about the Northwests since 'the incident' last summer. The last she had heard, they had moved away from Gravity Falls to California. Now they seem to be back here...

Weird.

Either way, Wendy guessed that it was no coincidence that Pacifica had returned just in time for the triumphant return of the Mystery Twins. Although she wasn't exactly sure why Pacifica seemed to be trying to keep a low profile. It seemed kind of out of character for her.

Speaking of out of character, she seems to be more quiet. More...distant acting.

"Hey, Wendy!"

Wendy blinked, as Soos was suddenly standing in front of her. "Melody and I're gonna go pick up the guests of honor! The bus oughtta be arriving any minute now. Can you hold down the fort while we're gone?" he asked.

Wendy smiled. "Sure thing, Soos."

Wendy continued to watch with a bemused smile as Soos rushed off, obviously overflowing with excitement. Wendy, as cool-headed as she usually tried to be, couldn't help but feel the same.

Dipper and Mabel were finally coming back to Gravity Falls.

Things were about to get a whole lot more interesting.

* * *

"And I never did get 'em to tell me why they called themselves 'Crystal Gems'...I mean, isn't that, like, redundant or something? Anyway, after that, there was this whole civil war thing between the Gnomes and the Manataurs...I think they're cool now, though. They signed a peace treaty and everything. Oh! And then, there was this Cyborg-Dinosaur guy, and-"

"Sweetheart, I think maybe you should give the twins some time to talk." said Melody, as she gave her fiance a gentle nudge.

Soos blinked. "Aw, sorry...it's just, there's been a ton of stuff goin' on. I mean, not as much as the last time you guys were here... Anyway, what've you two been up to?" he asked, as he turned to face the two teenagers sitting in the back seat of the car.

Melody calmly nudged him again, and reminded him to keep his eyes on the road while he was driving.

"Uh...well, for past couple of minutes or so, I've been wondering why we were blindfolded all of a sudden." said Dipper, as he moved his hand toward the blindfold that had been hastily wrapped around his face.

As if somehow sensing what he was doing, Mabel quickly slapped his hand away. "C'mon, Dipper! You're gonna ruin the surprise!" she yelled, excitedly.

Waddles oinked in agreement.

"All I'm saying is that Soos probably freaked some people out that were going inside the bus when he just suddenly blindfolded us and stuffed us into his car." said Dipper.

"Don't be such a Dipper-Downer! It's all a part of the fun! Aren't you excited to see everyone!?" exclaimed Mabel. "This is going to be the most exciting, super-awesome summer ever!"

Dipper grinned. Although he hadn't spent the entire trip to Gravity Falls bouncing up and down like Mabel had(well, kind of), he was no less excited. During the last summer, Gravity Falls had become like a second home to him. To both of them. Thinking about it, it almost felt more like home than Piedmont did.

And now, they were back.

As Mabel launched into a long story about some of their exploits back in Piedmont, Dipper found himself lost in thought as he imagined all of the things he was going to do. Most of them involved investigating the woods, or simply hanging out with his twin grunkles.

Life back at Piedmont was...okay, to say the least. It was the same old same old...which wasn't so bad...he guesses. But he would like a little weirdness every once in a while to spice things up. He has been trying to fit in at his school, and that's been kind of...challenging. Some kids still think he was a little weird, but it doesn't bother him that much. Saying that he's into kickboxing helps at times. As for girls...yeah, different story. But really, even though the chances are slim, he still has a soft spot for a certain older redhead...which he can't wait to see. Which made one of the reasons for going to Gravity Falls all the more exciting.

"We're here!"

Dipper suddenly snapped out of his train of thought at the sound of Soos' voice. He could hear the sound of the car door being opened, and he felt Mabel take his hand as they were both guided out of the car.

Upon Soos' command, the Mystery Twins took off their blindfolds and were greeted by an uproarious cheer. Huddled together outside of the Mystery Shack, were groups of creatures from the forest, along with almost all the faces they could remember from their last visit to Gravity Falls.

Over the usual 'Mystery Shack' sign that usually sat on the roof of the building, was an enormous banner that read 'Welcome Back, Mabel & Dipper!'.

As Mabel and Waddles rocketed forward to greet everyone, Dipper simply stood there. All of a sudden, he felt...overwhelmed. His heart skipped a beat, as he stared at the Mystery Shack.

"Hey, man! It's been awhile!"

Dipper blinked, as he noticed Wendy standing beside him. She gave him a playful nudge and smiled. Dipper took a sharp, deep breath. There she was, with all of her awesome glory. It was taking everything he had to not fully take in her beauty and feel those feelings again.

He cleared his throat, and wiped at his eyes, dearly hoping that Wendy hadn't noticed the tears that had begun to form in them.

"H-Hey..." he muttered, his voice giving an enormous crack as he spoke. "It's, uh...it's good to be back."

Wendy gave him an even warmer smile, "Glad you're here, Dip. Oh, by the way, here's your hat." she took the blue imprinted pine tree hat off of her head.

Dipper straightened up, "Oh! Yeah, um, your hat!" Dipper took Wendy's trapper hat off and gave it to her.

Wendy chuckled, "You seem to have taken good care of it." she said as she grabbed her old hat and gave Dipper's old hat back to him.

Dipper graciously grabbed his old hat and put it back on, flicking the bottom visor with a smirk, "You seem to have taken good care of my hat as well."

Wendy put her trapper hat on her head, smiling at Dipper, "Yeah dude. Of course I took care of your hat. It's a nice little keepsake!"

Dipper blushed, looked down and muttered, "Uh...thanks Wendy."

"No prob Dipper. Welcome back." Wendy said with a sweet smile.

They then proceed to walk over to the crowd, where the people and creatures swarm the Pines twins as each gave them their warm welcome backs.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Mabel! It's been so long!" Grenda exclaimed in excitement.

"I know, right!?" Mabel exclaimed back. "And wow, you girls look so fashionable!

"Oh stop." Candy said jokingly with a wave of her hand. "You're the fashionista who comes up with a stylish looking sweater every day."

Mabel giggled, "Oh you!" she noticed the Marius coming up next to Grenda. "Oh hey, Marius! You keeping Grenda busy?"

"Hello there, Mabel." Marius said with a smile. "Yes, I am, uh...keeping her busy."

"You better believe it!" Grenda says, "He takes me all the great places in Europe! Although, I don't know why, I would like to visit his native country of Australia, but hey, I'm not complaining!"

Marius blinked, "Um...I'll-uh-try to let you go to Australia if you want to go there." he said, a little perplexed on why his girlfriend wouldn't _still_ know the difference between Austria and Australia.

"Baby, I love you!" Grenda said with a happy grin, grabbing his head and giving him a kiss on the cheek, which Marius blushed deeply.

"Awww! It's good to see that some loves never fade away!" Mabel smiled brightly. She looked over to see where Waddles was and saw that he was resting on the porch on the Shack, obviously missing the place as well as he became familiar with it again. She then turned her head to the right to see that Dipper and Wendy were speaking to Nate, Lee, Thompson, even Robbie and Tambry. She smiled, seeing that her brother was trying not to get a little emotional.

 _'It's so GREAT to be back!'_ Mabel thought happily.

"Ah-hem..."

She turned her head to her left to see none other than...Pacifica.

Mabel blinked, "Pacifica!?" she then smiled, "Hey!"

"Hi. I, um-oof!"

Mabel attacked her with a big hug, "Oh my gosh, Pacifica! How are you!? How have you been!?" she let go of the blonde and observed for a second. She gasped, "Hey, are you catching a cold? You have a scarf on! You're not getting sick are you?"

"Uh...no." Pacifica said simply. "So, hey Mabel, how are...you?"

Mabel looked confused by her demeanor and the sudden change of topic, but grinned nonetheless, "Doing great now that I'm back at Gravity Falls! How are you?"

"Fine, fine..." Pacifica looked down, almost as if she's trying to think of something else to say...

Noticing that Pacifica was acting a little weird, Mabel raised an eyebrow. "Um...okay."

Candy, Grenda, and Marius came over to the conversation, with Candy saying, "Pacifica said that she's been living in California for a while! That's the state where you and Dipper live, right?"

"Really?" Mabel said, surprised at this information. She smiled, "Wow! Yeah, we do live in California!" she direct her attention to Pacifica. "That's pretty cool! What town are you living right now, Pacifica?"

"...San Francisco." Pacifica answered, shrugging, almost as if as she's saying to herself, 'what's the harm?'.

"Whoa! Really!?" Mabel exclaimed in shock, "We live in Piedmont, near Oakland! That's like thirty minutes away from where you are! Well, depending on the traffic, but still! That's awesome!"

"Oh..." Pacifica looked as if this was the first time she heard about this, "Um...yes, that is...awesome."

Noticing the strange behavior Pacifica is displaying, Mabel looked at her in concern, "Pacifica? Are you alright?"

Pacifica straightens, "Of course I'm alright. I just...never realized you guys were so close to where I used to live..."

"Used to live?" Candy asked in question.

"Wait...you're not in California anymore?" Mabel asked in confusion, "Then...where do you live now?"

"...We've moved back here to Gravity Falls three days ago." Pacifica answered.

"WHOA! REALLY!?" Grenda exclaimed.

"For real?" Candy said in curiosity, adjusting her glasses.

"Wha!?" Mabel said in shock, "Wow! Hey, that's great!" she grinned, "What made you guys move back here?"

"...I...rather not say," Pacifica said, a little apprehensive.

Marius seems to notice Pacifica's strange behavior as well and asks a little hesitantly, "Um...Miss Northwest, are you alright?"

"I said I'm fine!" Pacifica said brusquely.

Marius, afraid that she offended her, said, "M-Mein apologies! I-"

"Oh don't worry about Pacifica, Honey-Bun! She's just being shy is all!"

Candy put a hand to her chin, "Actually, she is acting a little... _too_ reserved."

Pacifica frowned, "No I'm not! It's just I don't know how to speak to commoners!"

Marius blinked, "Um...but I am not a commoner."

Pacifica sighed as she rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean, Marius."

"Uh...actually, no, I, uh...am afraid that I don't," Marius said sincerely. He then muttered, "Although, I do wish to experience the life of one."

"Hey, I'm about as common as you can get, Baby! So you're living the dream!" Grenda said slyly to her boyfriend as she wrapped an arm around him.

Marius blinked, but smiled sweetly, "That I am, mein love."

Mabel stared at Pacifica a little suspiciously, "Pacifica...are you sure everything's okay? I mean...if there's something wrong, you can tell us if you want. We may have our differences, but I would like to think we're cool now...right?"

"O-Of course we're cool. And...yes, everything is...fine." Pacifica looked down for a second until sighing briskly, looking up and saying, "Look, this isn't about me, it's about you and Dipper's return, alright? I rather not talk about my problems, so...yeah. I'm here to see you two, okay?"

Mabel blinks at Pacifica's statement...she smiles warmly, "Wow...thanks Pacifica."

Pacifica shrugs casually, looking to her right as if trying not to make friendly eye contact, "No problem."

"Pacifica?"

Pacifica, whirled around to her left to see that Dipper came up to them.

Mabel smiled at her brother, "Hey, Dipping-Sauce! Look who else came to the party!"

Dipper looked at the blonde girl in confusion, "Uh...hey Pacifica." he then raised an eyebrow, "Why are you wearing a scarf? It's summer."

Her face growing flushed, Pacifica then started to look down at her Ugg boots and muttered, "It's...a safety precaution so my parents won't know where I am."

"Oh..." Dipper blinked.

The blonde then looked up at the young teenage boy and nervously began saying, "So, uh...hi."

Dipper blinked again, only this time in perplexity, "Uh...hi?"

"Yeah...um, first of all," she glanced at Mabel and Dipper, "I'm, uh...sorry."

Dipper and Mabel, looking confused at the apology, glanced at each other and turned back to Pacifica.

"Sorry? For what?" Dipper asked.

"Well, you know, for...not saying goodbye to you guys properly when you and Mabel left."

"Wha? Aw come on, Pacifica, we didn't hold that against you. We know you were busy with..." Mabel then frowned as her eyes shifted to her right as she muttered, "...you know, stuff."

"...You mean when they gave their house away?" Grenda blurted out.

Candy winced and turned to her friend, "Um, Grenda, how about we leave these three to talk?"

Grenda just shrugged, "Okay. I'm pretty famished anyway!" she turned to Marius, "Hey Baby-Cakes, you up for some barbecue?"

"Uh, yes, that would be delightful." Marius smiled.

"Then onward we _go_!" Grenda grabbed Marius's hand and Candy's arm, dragging them to the 'manly barbecue'.

After they left, Dipper looked at Pacifica with a smile, "Hey, like Mabel said, you don't have to worry about that. We knew it had to be parent-related junk. Besides, you signed the 'come back soon' letter, so it's all good."

"Yeah!" Mabel said with a happy grin.

Pacifica looked at them, surprised that he would be so understanding. "Oh...so...you and Mabel weren't mad at me?"

Dipper smiled sincerely, "Of course not."

"Pacifica, we weren't even mad to begin with. Besides, you gave us cool presents at our birthday party! Dipper didn't even put that ghost book down on our way home to Piedmont!" Mabel reassured her.

"Oh, uh..." Pacifica looked at Dipper, "So you, uh, like the book?"

Dipper nodded with a smile, "Yeah. The book was very informative on where ghosts usually haunt, especially places with limestone."

Pacifica flushed a tiny red, "Well...g-good."

Dipper chuckled, "What's up with you? You're acting kind of shy all of sudden."

Pacifica's face then turned red and scowled, "Well, how am I supposed to communicate with you commoners?"

Dipper raised an eyebrow.

Pacifica winced, "I-I'm sorry, I was just, I didn't mean-"

But then Dipper chuckled again, "Still have that spunk, do ya?

Pacifica just stared at him, and for the first time since her visit, she smiled, "You better believe it." she said with a smug look as she placed a hand on her hip.

Dipper smirked once more, "Well, it's good to see you again, Pacifica. And I'm glad you came by to welcome us back."

"Me too!" Mabel said in agreement.

Pacifica muttered, "Of course. Even though this place is a _kind_ _of_ a dump, this dump helped save the world. Also, if it weren't for you and your sister, we would've been a seat cushion for that crazed demon."

Dipper and Mabel cringed at the mention of Bill.

"Yeah..." Dipper muttered.

Bill was kind of a touchy subject to both Dipper and Mabel. He still kind of haunts them in their dreams...well, metaphorically speaking. They know he's long gone, but they feel like every time they remember him, he's still alive in that stone shell of his in the Oregon forest...so they try not to remember him. As one person says, 'the only true death, is to not be remembered'.

Either way, Dipper switched topics, "But yeah, um...how are you, Pacifica?"

"Oh, you know..." the blonde tucked a strand of golden blonde locks behind her ear. "Just...still living life after the 'ye shall not be named'."

Dipper chuckled, "I hear ya."

Mabel then cut in on the conversation, "Pacifica lived in California one time!"

"Huh?" Dipper glanced at Mabel and back at Pacifica, "You did? Where?"

Pacifica glanced at Mabel with a scowl and said to Dipper with a sigh, "San Francisco."

"Really?" Dipper blinked, "You lived in San Francisco?"

"Yeah..." Pacifica mutters, "And I just found out you lived in Piedmont from Mabel. So...yeah, uh, if...I had known that, I would come over and...you know, hang out with you guys."

"Oh..." Dipper smiled, "Hey, it's no problem. It's nice that you came here to welcome us back either way. Maybe you can come over to Piedmont sometime. Where are you living now?"

"Um...here, again," Pacifica said, a little sheepishly.

Dipper blinked once more, "Huh?"

"It's a long story. Shorter version, my dad has a new job here."

"A new job?" Mabel said surprised, "Oh, so that's why you're moving back here?"

"Yeah..." Pacifica answered, a little hesitant.

"Oh...well hey, that's cool. What is your dad's new job?" Dipper asked. He wouldn't think there were any high-class jobs in Gravity Falls...except if you count-

"He's...an assistant for Mr. McGucket." Pacifica said with a mumble.

Dipper and Mabel just stood there in silence for a moment...

"...Oh..." Dipper awkwardly said, "Well...that's not so bad."

"For my dad it is, considering he's a control freak..." Pacifica mumbled.

Dipper winced, while Mabel decided to break the awkward outcome of this conversation, "WELL! How about some barbecue!? I think that would sound deeee-lish! Hey Pacifica, why don't we get some! I can show you how to eat barbecue!"

Pacifica looked at her once rival, "Well...okay." she shrugged nonchalantly.

They turned away from Dipper, but before Mabel can make any further steps, Pacifica stopped and turned to the boy, which then Mabel stopped and turned to the blonde as she heard her told Dipper, "Seriously though, it's great to have you guys back."

Dipper smiled, "Thanks, Pacifica. It's great to be back."

Pacifica gave him a small smile and turned to walk off. As she walked past Mabel, the chestnut haired girl glanced at Pacifica curiously for a second, seeing that she was looking down while walking and having the same smile on even when she passed her.

She put her hand on her chin as she pondered, _'Hmm...interesting.'_ she thought. She had noticed that Pacifica acted kind of weird when she communicated with Dipper...like, why was her face all so red when she was talking to him?

"You okay over there, Mabel?" Dipper asked his sister.

Mabel jerked out of her thoughts, "Oh! Yeah, I'm fine! Come on, let's get something to eat! You don't want to disappoint your Manotuar 'brethren', do ya?"

Dipper rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Of course not. I'll be there in a moment."

Mabel grinned, "Okie-dokie! Don't squander!" and with that, she dashed to where the food is.

Dipper looked around the area for a bit, feeling so much nostalgia. From the Shack, to the huge trees, to the sweet smells of nature, he _really_ _is_ glad to _be_ _back_.

Soos' voice came up from behind him, "Hey dude! Aren't you gonna go get some BBQ? Heh, using the acronym for that word is kind of funny."

Dipper, surprising him out of his nostalgic feel, turned to where his big friend was and smiled, "Absolutely. I'm starving!"

"Alright! Well then, let us venture on to the land of tasty manly meat! ...That, uh...that kind of sounded cool when said in my head. Didn't sound cool, when I, uh...when I spoke it out loud."

Dipper chuckled as well as Soos. They then walked to the barbecue table, conversing as they trekked there.

"So, how is being engaged going along?" Dipper asked.

"Oh, it's been going great! I never thought I meet a gal like Melody and be engaged to her! I was kind of scared she would say no when I pop the big question, but hot dog, she said yes!"

"Well, I'll say it again, congratulations, man. She's one lucky woman to have you." Dipper said sincerely.

"Aw, shucks! If it wasn't for you and Mabel pushing me to find the right girl, I would never had the courage to ask a girl out! I owe you guys my thanks!"

"Hey, anything to help you out, Pterodactyl-Bro." Dipper with a smile as he raised his fist to bump it with Soos.

Soos chuckled as he fist bumped Dipper's, "Thanks dude."

"No prob." Dipper said. He looked around the place to see if any other people were here. But not just any other people...he was looking for his grunkles.

"Hey, Soos, where's Grunkle Stan and Ford? I haven't seen them yet..." he asked curiously.

Soos flinched a little at the question. He had been expecting it, but Dipper had still managed to catch him off guard. He has been wondering why the older twins hadn't come back yet... "Uh...w-well..." he muttered, faltering a bit.

Dipper frowned a little. "Soos?"

"Uh..."

It was then Soos gave a long sigh, and slumped his shoulders. "Okay, so...they came back a couple of days ago. And then, Ford started talkin' about somethin' in the forest...and Stan insisted on goin' with him. So, they decided to make a camping trip out of it. They left two days ago around the evening, and...well, I don't know when they were supposed to come back, but they said that they'll come back today..."

Dipper went quiet for a moment.

"But, you know...they probably just got distracted or somethin'...y-y'know? I mean, maybe they found a lost city of gold or somethin'...or, maybe they just got a little lost...but...but, you know...they can take care of themselves. I'm sure they're fine..." said Soos. Despite his half-hearted reassurances, he was obviously concerned. Maybe even scared.

Dipper's frown deepened. "Yeah...you're probably right..." he muttered.

There was an awkward pause between them, as Dipper seemed to suddenly lose himself in thought. Eventually, he snapped out of it, and turned his attention back to Soos.

"I'll tell Mabel. And don't worry...you're right. They can take care of themselves." said Dipper.

"...You're already plannin' on heading out to find them, aren't you?" asked Soos.

Dipper smiled and nodded. "Yeah. We'll give them till tomorrow. If they don't show up, then Mabel and I will go looking. I was gonna go into the forest eventually, anyway. I've gotta return some BABBA CD's to Multi-Bear."

Soos smiled. "Okay, dude...sounds like a plan."

* * *

After spending an hour outside, the guests and the guests of honor went inside the Shack to converse a little bit. After a couple of more hours, some of the guests(people and creatures) were leaving, bidding the younger Pines twins farewell and saying they were happy to have them back.

Dipper found himself wandering outside the shack after a little while. Being back at the Mystery Shack, and staring out into the forest, he once again couldn't help but be flooded with nostalgia. He had spent a great deal of last summer wondering about all of the mysteries that Gravity Falls had to offer. And over that time, he had discovered many of them. But as he stared into the forest, he was sure that there were still more mysteries to uncover.

He took a deep breath, and shifted his focus up to the sky. All of the stars were bright and clear in the sky. Piedmont was not a particularly big town, but even there it was difficult to find a view of the stars quite like the this. Dipper's eyes quickly moved toward his namesake in the sky. Looking up at it, he unconsciously rubbed his forehead and gave a long sigh.

Although the party was dying down, it still seemed oddly quiet outside.

Dipper took a deep breath, and frowned.

 _'What if Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan are in trouble? ...What if they're already-'_

Dipper shook his head. He needed to focus on something else. His mind was going into a dark place. Something positive...

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breathe. A cool breeze washed over his face, as he did his best to calm the nagging anxiety in his chest. He took another deep breath, and stood there for a moment. But no matter how much he tried not to think about it, his thoughts quickly began to drift back to his Grunkles. He sighed in defeat.

 _'I really hope they're okay...'_

...It was then he noticed something.

It was...quiet. Too quiet. The sounds of the finishing party hadn't merely faded a little. They had completely disappeared. Replaced by the sound of a lazy breeze.

His eyes fluttered open, and he was greeted by the scenery of the forest once again. But only this time, however, everything was in a white fog, surrounding the forest like a blanket. He frowned as he turned toward the Mystery Shack...only to discover that it was no longer there. It was replaced by more fog and trees.

The air ran cold, as Dipper found himself looking around the area he was in. As he frantically looked around wondering where he was, he paused as he saw something...

...Something was in the fog.

The forest was so covered up by the white fog, that it was hard to tell what were trees and what was in it. But soon enough, whatever was in the fog, he could make it out...

They were...dark shapes. They began to blur and form right in front of him...each appearing to be taking the forms of some sort of small person...

...They looked to be taking in forms...of children...and there were more popping up through the fog...

Before long, there were about hundreds of pitch black children standing next to each other, in front of each other, next to the trees...

Each of them had darkish hair, some long, some short...but what made the scene even more eerie...was that their body features were just...featureless...they were all just _pitch black_.

Each one of them was standing perfectly still. It was as if Dipper had suddenly found himself in one enormous black and white photo.

A gust of wind washed over the crowd of children, moving their hair in what felt like slow motion. Each one of them look to be staring straight ahead, and yet for some reason, even though he couldn't make out their faces, Dipper feel like they were staring directly at him.

The air was slowly filled with the sounds of barely audible whispers. Dipper did his best to focus on the voices, as they seem to only utter one word, but he couldn't make out what it was.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and he felt his blood run cold.

There was something out in the distance inside the fog...it towered over the children, the outline looking quite thin. It had long, gangling arms, and it could almost be mistaken for a long willowy tree... but it looked too ominous to be one.

Its arms were at at its sides, as the _...thing_ stood there.

Then, for the first time since being in this... _place_ , there was movement.

The towering, thinly figure raised an arm. From what he could make out in the fog, it had long, spiny clawed fingers...

It held out it's hand towards Dipper...

The long arm slowly extended towards him...it stretched, as the spider looking hand attached to it was growing nearer.

Dipper gasped, eyes widened. He tried to move but he couldn't. Every fiber of his body was screaming at him to run away, and yet his legs seemed firmly rooted to the ground.

He could see the fingers and hand drawing closer, as the whispers from the children seemed to grow louder in desperation.

The word now was audible enough for him to hear.

" _Run...run...run... **run**... **run.**.. **RUN.** "_

His body began to tremble, as the thin long fingered opened hand was now hovering in front of him.

The palm of this creature's hand was mere inches to Dipper's face.

Then...he heard it spoke.

" _ **In due time, child."**_

"Dipper?"

Dipper yelped. All of a sudden, he was back in the world of color. Standing just outside of the Mystery Shack. He gasped and shuddered. Still trembling, he noticed that Wendy was standing next to him, with her hand on his shoulder. He tried desperately to collect himself, but it was already too late.

"Dipper? Are you okay, man?" asked Wendy.

Dipper blinked. "Uh...yeah, I think so..." he muttered.

"What happened? You were out here staring off into space for a while there..." said Wendy.

Dipper rubbed his forehead, and groaned. "Uh...yeah...I guess I'm a little more tired than I thought..." he muttered.

"Well, why don't you head on up to bed? It has been a long day for you and Mabel. Besides, Soos tells me you were plannin' on goin' out into the forest with Mabel first thing tomorrow looking for your Grunkles...naturally, Candy, Grenda and I are already on board. I think that Marius guy will join too...either way, Stan and Ford have been gone away for too long, and I'm getting kind of worried about them as well. So you'll need plenty of beauty sleep." said Wendy.

Dipper blinked. "...Yeah..." he muttered. He glanced at the forest, making sure whatever he saw wasn't out there.

Wendy couldn't help but be concerned for her young friend. He looked even more pale than usual. Without really thinking, she took his hand, leading Dipper inside. While he did enjoy the sudden hand contact, Dipper still seemed a little distracted.

One thing was certain.

He was right.

Gravity Falls had more mysteries to uncover.

* * *

 **Hey all! Long time no see, huh? First up, big shout out to Jack Coffison who helped me get this story back on track! He even helped me write some of the scenes! Thank you so much man, you rock! :D**

 **Well, I got nothing else to say, except maybe I probably got a little tired here at the end of the chapter(hey, it was getting pretty late here). I hope it's still good though! But yeah, all in all, tell me what you think of the chapter! Do you like the direction I'm going with this?** **I really would love to have a review knowing what you think, as well as having a fave or a follow! :D**

 **Thank you all for reading! Once again, keep on rocking everyone! ^_^**

 **-TSP**


	3. Found and Lost

**Seriously, a shout-out to Jack Coffison, who help me _tremendously_ on this chapter! I came up with the concept, but he gave me more ideas to make this even more epic! Thanks, dude! :D**

* * *

 _There was a high pitched buzzing sound in the air. Only just audible enough to grate against his nerves._

 _Dipper rubbed his forehead as he struggled to think. To focus._

 _For a long time, it felt like he was sinking. His eyes fluttered open for a moment, only to be greeted by a vision of darkness. He closed his eyes again, and felt a chill run the length of his spine._

 _He grimaced, as the buzzing sound seemed to grow louder and louder._

 _And then, it was gone._

 _Dipper felt himself land softly on his feet. He opened his eyes once more and squinted at the sudden burst of light all around him. It took a while for his eyes to finally adjust to his surroundings._

 _He was standing in the middle of a small, old bedroom. The wallpaper was peeling, and covered in small scratches and rips that seemed to have built up over time. Scribbled across one wall was an enormous and complex math equation. Right beside it, was what appeared to be a picture of a pirate ship with two people holding the captain's wheel._

 _On the other side of the room was an old bunk bed. Beside it was a mess of old toys, along with a pile of sand and a collection of seashells. Splayed all over the wall beside it, covering what appeared to be a big burn mark in the wallpaper, was a collection of hand-drawn treasure maps._

 _Dipper stared at them for a moment._

 _"Hey, do you ever think there's life beyond the stars?"_

 _Dipper let out a shrill gasp at the sound of the voice. Turning around as fast as he could, he suddenly noticed two kids lying on the bunk beds. A boy with glasses on the bottom bunk, and a boy without glasses on the top. They looked almost identical to each other, save for a few small details._

 _The boy on the top bunk scratched his chin for a moment and shrugged, as he nonchalantly tossed an old baseball into the air and caught it._

 _"Dunno, bro. I kinda hope so. I bet they'd know about all sorts of awesome treasure!" exclaimed the boy on the top bunk._

 _The boy on the bottom bunk adjusted his glasses and sighed. "Is treasure all you think about?" he asked._

 _"Sure! You know the ol' saying! 'Ain't nothin' like the smell o' booty in the morning!"_

 _"I don't think anyone really says that, Stan."_

 _"Well, they oughtta!"_

 _Dipper blinked, as it suddenly clicked in the back of his mind exactly what it was he was staring at. "Grunkle Stan...Grunkle Ford...?" he muttered in question._

 _"When we get the Stan o' War up and running, we should soup it up into a space ship! After we've gotten all the treasure in the world, we can go out and find some on other planets!" exclaimed Stan._

 _Ford smiled a little and sat up in bed. "Yeah! We could have blasters, and cool space suits!" he exclaimed._

 _"Yeah! And laser swords!" said Stan._

 _Ford paused for a moment and huffed. "That's a dumb idea," he said._

 _Stan frowned and moved out of his bed just enough to hang upside down and glare at his brother. "What do mean it's a dumb idea? It'd be...space-agey!" he exclaimed._

 _"But how would that even work? I mean, if it's a laser...how would you...you know...do sword stuff with it? It's light! And even if you could use it, it'd be crazy dangerous! Besides- why would you want some fancy sword when you've got a bunch of blasters?" asked Ford._

 _Stan frowned once more and seemed to take some time to think even as he continued to hang upside down. "Oh, yeah? Well, guess what? You smell like butts!" he exclaimed._

 _The argument between the two siblings quickly devolved into name calling and raspberries for a good while, until there was a sudden thud on their bedroom door. Both of the boys went quiet immediately and went back into their beds._

 _"Hey, you boy's quiet down in there! Your dad's been takin' the night shift again." came a voice from the other side of the door. The voice sounded as if it belonged to a woman whose diet consisted primarily of cigarettes and coffee._

 _"Yes, Mom." said the boys, in perfect unison._

 _As the sound of footsteps began to fade into the distance, the boys both gave a sigh of relief._

 _After that, the boys went silent for a while. Stan went back to throwing and catching a baseball, and Ford pulled an old magazine out from under his pillow. As Ford flipped through the magazine, Dipper took a few timid steps toward them. Holding his breath just a little, Dipper waved his hand in front of Ford's face._

 _There was no reaction._

 _"Ford?" muttered Dipper._

 _No response._

 _Taking a step back, Dipper turned his attention to Stan. "Stan!? Hey!? Can you hear me!?" he yelled._

 _Stan didn't even flinch at the sound of his voice._

 _Dipper rubbed his forehead and frowned. ' **This... This is a dream... Isn't it?'** he thought._

 _"Hey, Stan? ...What about monsters?" asked Ford, breaking the silence between them._

 _Stan caught his baseball and frowned. "Your readin' that weird magazine again, ain't ya?" he asked._

 _Ford nodded. "Yeah...there's some really cool stuff in here, y'know? Like, there's this rock that looks like a face...or...maybe it's a face that looks like a rock..." he muttered._

 _Stan sighed. "Why do ya read that junk? You're ruinin' your perfectly good brains!" he exclaimed._

 _"I am not! What about this? Giant spiders in the sewers...giant sharks in the sewers...giant squids in the...in the sewers...why's so much stuff happening in the sewers?" muttered Ford._

 _"I dunno, man. It all kinda sounds a little fakey to me, y'know? Like, remember that time you thought the bat-boy was livin' in the dumpster, but it just turned out to be a family of super angry raccoons?" asked Stan._

 _Ford shuddered. "Y-yeah. I...I remember."_

 _"Like I said, that stuff's just stories made up to sucker people outta money." said Stan, with a shrug._

 _Ford huffed a little, as he began furiously flipping through the pages of his magazine. Suddenly, he paused. He was quiet for a moment as stared at the magazine page. "Okay...okay! What about this? The legend of 'The Man With No Face'. See? There's a picture! See that guy off in the blurry distance? That's him!" exclaimed Ford._

 _Stan let out a long sigh, and once again slung himself over the side of the bunk bed and hung upside down to give his brother a look._

 _Ford quickly help up the picture in the magazine. Then, he paused for a moment and flipped it upside down for Stan._

 _"Eh, not convinced." said Stan._

 _Ford flipped to another page. "Oh, yeah? Well, look at this! Every time he's been spotted, a bunch of kids disappear. And it also says these kids leave behind bunches of creepy pieces of scribbled paper that they draw before they_ do _disappear."_

 _"That kinda sounds like another one of those old ghost stories they play on the radio late at night..." muttered Stan._

 _"But it's true!" exclaimed Ford._

 _All of a sudden, their mothers' voice cut through the air. "Boys! I told you two to quiet down!" she hissed from the other side of the door._

 _Once again, they went back to their own beds and the boys laid down in silence for a while._

 _"I...I saw him..." muttered Ford._

 _Stan blinked. "You say somethin', Ford?" he asked._

 _Ford paused for a moment, as he seemed lost in thought. "...No. Nevermind bro. It was nothin'." he said._

 _"Sure thing. G'night, Ford. Try not to have nightmares and stuff, 'kay? Remember why_ I _get the top bunk." said Stan._

 _Ford huffed. "You did it too! ..Butt face!"_

 _"You're a butt face!"_

 _There was another moment of silence between the two of them._

 _"...Good night, Stan," said Ford._

 _"Yeah. G'night."_

 _Dipper blinked, as all of sudden- the child versions of Stan and Ford faded away. Leaving behind an empty bed. He stared at it for a moment. Sitting on the bed, flipped open, was Ford's magazine._

 _Dipper walked over to it and picked it up. The page that was opened was what the article was about; 'The Man With No Face'. There was a few pages worth of text underneath it, along with a few pictures. Dipper stared down at it for a moment and frowned._

 _Suddenly, the room went cold. The magazine turned to dust in his hands, along with everything around him._

 _"...reppiD"_

 _Dipper gasped a little and spun around. He recognized that voice in an instant. Sure enough, he found Grunkle Ford suddenly standing in front of him. His features were blurred by their surroundings, but Dipper was sure it was him._

 _"...reppiD .emit on si erehT ...lrig **** eht dna yob ********* eht nesohc eH ...dekram neeb evah yehT ...ew evah oS ...pots tsum uoY ...namrednelS"_

 _Suddenly, Dipper was falling again._

 _Sinking... Deeper and deeper._

* * *

Dipper awoke with a start, his heart beating furiously as he sat up and looked around the room. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, and even longer for him to realize where he was.

He was back in his old room in the attic of the Mystery Shack. Across the room, Mabel was in her bed sleeping peacefully.

Dipper rubbed his forehead and groaned. He was drenched in a cold sweat, and his head was throbbing in pain. Unfortunately, this was a familiar sensation. Ever since leaving Gravity Falls, it would happen once or twice a month. Dipper guessed that it was a result of some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder he had developed over the summer. He had been through a lot, after all.

Dipper winced as he laid back down. The dream had mostly faded from his memory. As he closed his eyes, he made an effort to remember it. But all that remained was a blurry image of Ford. He was speaking, but he couldn't understand what he was saying.

Dipper let out an involuntary groan as his migraine began to worsen. Trying to think was making it worse.

"...Dip-dop? That you?"

Dipper opened his eyes once again, this time at the sound of Mabel's voice.

"...Sorry, Mabel. Go back to sleep..." said Dipper.

Mabel sat up in her bed and crossed her arm over her chest. "Don't tell me what to do, you're not my real Mom," she said. Despite the room being dark, Dipper could tell that she was smiling. He could hear it in her voice. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for her tone to change.

"You had a nightmare again, huh?" she asked.

Dipper sighed a little. "...Yeah," he muttered.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, as Mabel seemed to ponder what to say next. Eventually, she found her voice again.

"...So, on a scale of Gremloblim to underpants in front of the school...how was it?" asked Mabel.

"Uh-...it...it wasn't that bad." said Dipper.

"Are you sure?" asked Mabel.

"Yeah."

"You remember what the consequences for your lyin' to your big sister are, don't ya? Don't think I won't put you through another make over. Candy and Grenda are right over there." said Mabel.

Dipper blinked and looked down at the floor. With what little light there was coming in from the window, Dipper could just make out the forms of Grenda and Candy fast asleep on a pair of mattresses on the floor.

Turning his attention back to Mabel, he was able to see the expression on her face.

She was worried.

Dipper sighed. "...It was about Ford...I think. I remember him...and-...and I think he was trying to say something...but I couldn't...it was like he was speaking backwards or something..."

"A backwards talkin' Grunkle... Huh. Sounds kinda ominous." said Mabel.

Dipper nodded. "...Yeah."

The room went silent again. As time passed, Grenda made a few loud snorts as she rolled over on her mattress.

"...Hey...do you...do you think they're okay?" muttered Mabel.

"...Yeah. Nobody can take care of themselves like our Grunkles can. Plus, they've got each other..." said Dipper.

Mabel nodded with a small smile. "Yeah...and together, they could do anything. The Grunkles! Like the Avengers, except a whole lot older and they kinda smell funny. Stan kinda smells like money that was drenched in cheap cologne. And Ford kinda smells like chemicals and smoke. I guess it's 'cuz he keeps getting caught up in explosions and stuff..." said Mabel. "I wonder if they have catchphrases and stuff, like the hero's in your old cheesy comic books."

Dipper gave a slight pout. "If you don't like 'em, then don't read 'em..." he muttered.

Mabel softly snickered. "Anywho, maybe their catchphrase would be something like...'I got your equation right here, punk!' Then, bang! They shoot. Or, I guess- Stan would use his brass knuckles, and Ford would shoot 'em with some kinda laser gun. Huh...what's kinda unfair...why does Ford get a laser gun? Let's make it so they both have laser guns. And jetpacks. No! Pegasus'. They're like flying unicorns, but less...jerks. I-...I think. I guess we haven't met one of those yet, huh..." said Mabel.

"Actually, I don't think Pegasus' have horns either." said Dipper.

"Really? That's a shame...what'll they poke stuff with? Their snout?" asked Mabel.

Dipper shrugged.

Mabel laid back down in her bed and adjusted her sheets. Staring up at the ceiling, she gave a heavy sigh.

"I-...I really hope they're okay...I...I don't wanna...I don't wanna think about...if something happened..." said Mabel. "I was kinda thinking about this before...Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford...they're both...old. And-...And we can't know how much time we'll get to hang out with them. I wanna get as much time in as possible. And-...And..." she trailed off, but it wasn't hard to figure out what she was trying to say.

They both had a limited amount of time to hang out with their Grunkles. And having that cut short would be...devastating.

"It's okay, Mabel. We'll find them. No matter what. I promise." said Dipper.

Mabel smiled. "...Thanks, Dipper. I promise too. We'll find them. The Mystery Twins are on the case." she said.

Dipper smiled too.

"Yeah."

* * *

Time passed, and eventually, Dipper could hear the sound of Mabel snoring peacefully. Unfortunately, sleep was not coming so easily for Dipper. As he stared up at the ceiling with a hand on his forehead, he gave a sigh.

His migraine had softened, but not enough for it to no longer be a problem. With a measure of reluctance, Dipper slowly sat himself up and pulled away his blanket. Moving as carefully and quietly as possible, he made his way around Candy and Grenda. When he finally arrived at the door, he held his breath as he turned the handle. The last thing he wanted to do was wake up Mabel again.

Once he had successfully made his way out of the room, he made his way down stairs. It was pitch black, and Dipper had to rely on a slightly fuzzy memory in order to navigate. Eventually, he was standing in the main hallway. Fortunately, it didn't take very long for him to find the bathroom. Someone had left the light on to make it easier to find in the middle of the night.

The bathroom looked a lot cleaner than he remembered it. There was no mold shaped like a collection of screaming faces, and it looked like Soos had finally got around to fixing the flickering light. Standing at the sink, Dipper opened the medicine cabinet and made his way through a variety of out of date ointments and bottles of cologne. Most of it looked to be old stuff left behind by Grunkle Stan, save for a pair of plastic toothbrush cases marked 'Soos' and 'Melody'.

Eventually, Dipper found what he was looking for. Next to a small jar with a green multi-eyed and toothed octopus floating inside, was a small box marked 'Paracetamol'. Dipper read through some of the text on the box for a while. Eventually, satisfied that he had found what amounted to a mild pain-killer, he popped a pair of pills and downed them. Taking them dry was a little unpleasant, so he quickly cupped his hand under the tap and took a few gulps of water to go with it.

Looking up at his reflection in the mirror, he sighed. His skin was pale and clammy, and there were dark circles around his eyes from a lack of sleep. He grimaced a little at his reflection, and slowly closed his eyes. With a deep breath, he slowly pressed his forehead against the cool surface of the mirror.

' _...I should try and rewrite my one hundred step plan for a great Summer...obviously, I gotta mark out finding Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford to the top of the list...maybe there's some stuff I should...scrap.'_ as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly pictured Wendy. The smile she was wearing when they saw each other again...

Dipper grimaced as he felt his chest start to tighten. _'I'm overthinking it again...'_ he thought. _'She was just being a good friend...don't-...don't get carried away. You don't wanna go down that road again...'_

He sighed. It wasn't going to be easy. He had already promised himself that he wasn't going to waste another summer pining away for someone who wasn't going to reciprocate his feelings. He knew it was going to be difficult. But as soon as he saw her again, he realized that he had radically underestimated just how strong his 'crush' had been. In an instant, it felt like he was twelve all over again.

But it wasn't going to be like that again. He knew how Wendy felt, and he respected that.

He had to move on.

Desperate to try and change the subject, Dipper's thoughts drifted back to the big 'Welcome Back' party. While he certainly hadn't cut loose quite as much as his sister, he had managed to have a pretty good time.

That was good.

Over time, he seemed to have developed a real distaste for parties. But maybe that was because they were usually filled with strangers. There was nobody in the 'Welcome Back' party that he didn't know. It had been a cavalcade of familiar, friendly faces. And he couldn't help but smile when he saw them all again.

During the party, he had talked to more people than he had all year back in Piedmont. Grenda had enthusiastically told him about her win in the Gravity Falls Annual Arm Wrestling Championship. He was able to strike up a conversation with Candy about some of the new books that they had read over the year. He and McGucket had discussed Transdimensional Multiverse Theory and the finer points of Hamboning.

He had talked to the Gnomes and the Manataurs, he had met a few obnoxious Unicorns, and reunited with Multi-Bear. It had been a long, busy night.

As he was thinking about it, his thoughts eventually drifted back to Pacifica. He had only gotten to speak to her for about a minute- if that. And after that, she seemed to have disappeared.

' _...I wish she had stayed a little longer.'_ he thought.

He pictured her for a moment. It had been obvious that there was something wrong...maybe, once he had found Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford, he would pay her a visit...

His thoughts seemed to linger on Pacifica for a moment. Eventually, his mind seemed to drift on to what happened afterward. He had spoken briefly to Soos, and sometime later, he found himself standing outside. He had been staring out at the forest when something...strange had happened.

It was like a dream. A short series of disturbing images and voices...

Suddenly, he gasped.

All of a sudden, he could hear Grunkle Ford's voice again. Whispering this time, over and over.

Without thinking, Dipper began to blow gently on the surface of the mirror. Despite the temperature of the bathroom, the mirror quickly fogged over.

"What the..." Muttering to himself, Dipper slowly drew his hand up to the mirror. Through the fog, he could barely see his reflection. Now, it looked more like a faceless blur.

He blinked slowly, as he began to trace his fingers around the blurry reflection of his face. What was left was a simple oval shape on the mirror.

Suddenly, he began to shudder. Ford's voice got louder, but it was still impossible to understand.

Dipper clutched his forehead, as his migraine seemed come roaring back in full force. As he leaned against the sink to keep himself from falling to the floor, he realized that Ford was muttering something out loud.

".namrednelS .namrednelS .namrednelS"

He groaned and shuddered, as the world around him seemed to spin out of control.

Then, all of a sudden, it was gone. And Dipper found himself leaning against the sink, drenched in a new layer of sweat.

The pain was gone. And so was the image on the mirror.

Dipper took a deep breath.

"...I...I'm going to bed..." he muttered.

Moving slowly, Dipper made his way out of the bathroom and back to the attic. Once again, he held his breath as he made his way around Candy, Grenda and Waddles and climbed back into bed. He no longer had a headache. Instead, everything was just... _cloudy._

He closed his eyes slowly, and he was grateful when sleep came almost immediately after.

* * *

...It was silent.

Dipper gradually opened his eyes. He felt oddly rested...

During the night, he hadn't encountered any more nightmares, which he was completely thankful for. He slowly sat up on his covers that he planted himself on, surveying the room. There was light streaming inside the room, illuminating the area, indicating that is was probably morning or the afternoon.

When he did look around the room, it seemed to be empty. There was no Mabel sleeping in her bed, as well as Candy and Grenda in their sleeping mattresses. Waddles wasn't even resting on the floor. It was just him.

Dipper blinked. ' _Where is everyone?'_

Before he got up, he checked the electric alarm clock that was on their nightstand.

 **10:30 AM**

 _'Is it really that time? Why didn't Mabel wake me up?'_ His eyes widened as he realized the reason. _'...Because she_ wanted _me to get some sleep...'_

Dipper had to give out a small smile to that. _'Thanks Mabel.'_

He then got off his bed and walked over to his closet to get dressed for the day. Putting on his red long sleeved shirt and the bigger blue vest jacket over it, he also put on a pair of jeans, and lastly, his socks and tracker boots on. He looked at himself in the mirror to observe his new attire. He had to admit, Mabel did a good job of picking out his clothes. He wouldn't think his attire from last summer would go with his teenage body...come to think of it, that 'shorts phase' he had last summer at Gravity Falls was kind of dorky...

 _'Heh. Next thing I know, I'll be on a fashion runway directed by Mabel, sweaters and all.'_ Dipper cringed at that. _'...How come I feel like that will happen?'_

Either way, he liked what he saw and decided to go downstairs to see where everyone was. Before he did, however, he stopped and almost forgot the most important piece of clothing to him.

His pine tree cap.

Not believing he would forget such a thing, he went back to fetch it, which was on his desk. Picking it up, he put it on, and instinctively flicked the bottom visor. He doesn't know why he does that, it just felt right.

 _'Now time to meet up with the rest of the gang.'_ And with that, Dipper made his way downstairs.

As soon as he came downstairs, he heard a commotion going on in the living room, which sounded like Mabel, Candy, and Grenda packing up and getting ready for the big Grunkle Hunt. He went over to the living room to see that Mabel and her friends, were in fact, packing their things into each of their knapsacks. The girls were packing their essentials, snacks, binoculars, towels, mosquito repellent, compasses, and flashlights, as well as sleeping bags on top of their knapsacks just in case they go through the whole night. Also, Mabel brought her grappling hook, which was hanging on the side of her knapsack.

Dipper turned his attention to Stan's recliner, as he saw that Waddles was resting on it. He wonders if Waddles understood what was happening, what with the Grunkles absence. Maybe that's why the pet pig is resting on the recliner. Because he misses them...

 _'Yeah...I feel ya, buddy.'_ thought Dipper solemnly.

"Hey Dipping-Sauce!" said Mabel's voice, interrupting his thoughts. He turned his head to his sister, who had a big smile on her face. "It's about time you woke up! I figured you needed the sleep after the party last night, so I let you rest some more! I also packed up your camping gear as well!" she motioned to his full knapsack beside theirs.

Dipper smiled. "Thanks Mabel."

"You're welcome!" beamed Mabel.

The male twin nodded with the same smile. It's good to see that Mabel was acting optimistic. Whether she's trying to disguise her true feelings of the matter or she really is being herself, they're gonna need all the optimism they need for this trip.

"Hey, Mabel! Should we bring our "Just Turned-Teen" magazines as well just for reading material?" Grenda asked her.

"I _really_ like to know what teen idol I would most likely marry!" Candy said with a happy grin.

"Oooh, absolutely! And which issue and article is that one? I LOVE to know if I will ever supposedly marry Justen Bibber!" Mabel said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"...Justen Bibber?" Dipper asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's just some guy that sings pop songs. You wouldn't be interested." Mabel said as she waved her hand dismissively.

"Um...I wasn't, thankfully." Dipper said as he decided to leave his sister and her friends to gush over their teenage girl things.

He decided to go to the kitchen to get some breakfast/brunch, and upon entering, he saw Soos over at the counter making some sort of concoction out of a bowl. It actually smelled heavenly, almost like...marshmallows and milk chocolate?

"Soos?" Dipper called to him at the entry frame.

Soos stopped what he was doing as he jumped a bit at the sound of the almost foreign voice. Turning around to face the thirteen-year-old boy, he looked relieved, "Oh! Uh, heh, um, wow! Sorry dude. Didn't recognize your voice for a second. It was almost, like...unrecognizable. I guess that means that puberty is being kind to ya!"

Dipper flushed a tiny bit at the compliment as he looked down. "Yeah, I...guess." He glanced back up at Soos and asked him. "So, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just making my special marshmallow slime with bits of graham crackers and chocolate in them! It's a family recipe! …Well...okay, not really. It's kind of _my_ recipe. I mean, nobody in my family really does make any marshmallow slime. I just heard about it and it sounded good. ...Actually...had to be honest again, this is my first time making this stuff. I looked up videos on the internet to know how to make it, and I think I'm doing good so far..." Soos cleared his cleared. "So, _yeah_ , I'm making some s'mores slime! Haha! That sounded funny!"

Dipper smiled. "Cool. I bet it'll taste great!"

"Aw, thanks dude!" Soos grinned. "I'm making it for you guys so you'll have the sugary energy! Hey, speaking of energy, you want me to make you some brunch?"

"Nah, I can do it. Eggs are in the fridge, bread in the breadbox, and freezer sausage in the freezer, right?"

Soos whistled. "Yeah, dude. Wow, you're even eating like a man now!"

Dipper softly laughed. "Hey, need the nutrition for today."

"Well, have at it!" Soos said with a smile.

Dipper prepared his breakfast while Soos stirs up the marshmallow 's'mores slime'. While each were cooking and baking, Dipper started out a conversation. "So, where's Melody and Abuelita?"

"Oh, Melody is at the cash register doing her thing, while Abuelita is packing my stuff for me to go with you guys on the big Grunkle Hunt!"

"Oh, you're coming with us?" Dipper said in surprise as he turned his head to glance at him before going back to scrambling his eggs.

"Yeah! I mean, I hope that won't effect anything. I just...want to search for the Pines Brothers as well. I love em like family, and...well, you know...I hope that's okay." Soos said sounding hesitant.

Dipper glanced at Soos again with a smile. "Soos, of course it's okay. We would love to have you come with us."

Soos gave out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good! Mabel already agreed that I could come, but I just want to make sure from ya if that's okay."

"Absolutely. I like to have another guy to chat with on the trip."

"Great! By the way, I heard that Marius dude is coming as well. Something about wanting to protect his girlfriend from the wilderness. Haha! Aw, that's so cute! Young love, young love."

Dipper chuckled at that. Once his brunch was ready, Dipper sat in his chair near the table and began chowing down. Once Soos was done with his marshmallow slime, he sat in his chair by the table and blew out an exhausted sigh. "Whew! That ought to do it! So, how are things back at Piedmont? Were there any interesting mysteries, phenomenon's, or whatever happenings waiting for you two dudes when you got back there?"

Chewing his bacon and swallowing it, Dipper answered. "Eh, not really. Just same old boring stuff."

"Really? Not even like Waddles speaking Spanish?"

"Uh...no."

"Oh...well, what have you and Mabel done while you were away from Gravity Falls?" Soos asked.

"Well...basically just school, kickboxing lessons for me, karate for Mabel, taking care of Waddles, and the occasional get-together for the holidays."

"Aw, well that's nice."

"Yeah, it kind of is...but being back in Gravity Falls is even nicer," Dipper said with a happy smile.

"Hey, it's great to have you two dudes back as well!" Soos said with a happy smile of his own. "By the way, um...did you told your parents about the whole, uh...'Grunkle' situation?"

"Actually...we never really brought it up. We're trying to keep that on the down-low...until they decide to come visit here, that is." Dipper explained.

"Huh...well, uh...I guess I can say good luck with that."

Dipper sighed. "Yeah...when the time comes, we'll have to tell them..." Dipper then muttered. "Or maybe Ford can do that..." remembering that they were going on this expedition to _look_ for Ford and Stan, Dipper frowned.

Sensing Dipper's melancholy, Soos spoke up. "Hey, Dip...don't worry about it. We'll find those old dudes. They're out there somewhere, and they're waiting for us to save them from whatever creepy crawly is keeping them from coming back."

Dipper looked up at Soos and smiled appreciatively. "Thanks man."

"No prob! Hey, uh...would it be okay if you to taste test the marshmallow slime for me? I would do it, but I REALLY love marshmallows, and...well, I don't trust myself when it comes to eating them."

Dipper smirked. "It would be my honor, Soos."

* * *

It was the afternoon, and the gang were now trekking through the forest to find Stand and Ford.

Dipper took a long, deep breath. It felt nice to be trekking through the forest again. As he walked, he felt a familiar sense of adventure in the air. Along with a familiar sense of foreboding. The tree's seemed to stretch up into the sky forever, the branches curling inward like hands preparing to strike.

The sound of his feet crunching the leaves and dirt quickly seemed to echo throughout the entire forest. This noise was greeted an occasional rustling sound from somewhere nearby, followed by a distant bird-call.

"Sure brings up memories, don't it dude?" asked Soos.

Dipper almost flinched at the sudden sound of his voice. For a moment, he had forgotten that he was with other people. Rubbing his forehead, he glanced back at the people trailing behind him. Mabel and Wendy were laughing in mid-conversation, Grenda was holding Marius' hand and boasting about the time she wrestling a gang of gnomes, while Candy seemed content to read a small book as she walked.

A few steps ahead of them, Waddles seemed to be keeping his snout planted firmly to the ground. Apparently, he had taken Mabel's request to sniff out Stan and Ford very seriously.

None of them, including Soos, seem particularly on edge. Dipper breathed a heavy sigh, as he did his best to shake off the unsettling anxiety he could feel creeping up on him.

"Uh...yeah. It does." muttered Dipper.

Soos blinked. "...You okay, dude?" he asked.

Dipper gave him a small nod. "Yeah. I'm fine," he muttered.

Soos opened his mouth to say something, only to be suddenly interrupted when Waddles bumped into him from behind. Soos paused for a moment, as Waddles looked up to him and gave him a loud snort. Soos blinked. "What's that? You smell somethin' that way?" he asked.

Waddles seemed to give him an affirmative snort, before running off into the bushes nearby.

Soos quickly turned to face everyone else. "Hey, dudes! It looks like Waddles might've found somethin'!" he exclaimed.

"Good work, Waddles!" exclaimed Mabel.

Everyone cheered for Waddles as they followed him through the bushes. Eventually, Waddles came to a sudden stop in the middle of an open area where the ground was covered in leaves. Waddles stuck his snout into the leaves and began to sniff around. Before long, Waddles had stuck his head back up, now holding an old magazine in his mouth.

Waddles happily trotted over to Mabel and dropped it at her feet. Mabel blinked as she slowly picked up the magazine, and then gave a dramatic gasp.

"This is a 'Gold Chains for Old Men' magazine! Grunkle Stan's favorite!" exclaimed Mabel, before giving it a cautious sniff. "You can still smell all the free cologne samples!"

"They must have passed through here..." said Wendy.

"Yeah! We're on the right track! Good work, Waddles!" exclaimed Mabel.

"Yeah, good work dude." said Soos.

Waddles puffed out his chest and gave a proud snort as he bathed in everyone's adulation. Dipper reached out and gave Waddles a gentle pat on the head, to which Waddles gave an appreciative snort.

"Let's look around! Maybe they left some other clues around here!" said Mabel.

Everyone in the group agreed, and so the next hour or so was spent combing through the area. Waddles trotted around with his snout on the ground along with Soos, who appeared to be doing the same thing. Wendy seemed to be carefully tapping the nearby trees with her hands. Apparently checking for a possible entrance to one of Ford's secret laboratories.

Both Grenda and Candy were holding twin magnifying glasses and looking about in seemingly random directions. While Mabel walked around the outskirts of the area, apparently searching for tracks. Marius looked more than a little lost, so he simply copied Grenda. Only without a magnifying glass.

While everyone else searched for clues, Dipper slowly got to his hands and knees and made a halfhearted attempt to search through a pile of leaves. As time passed, Dipper felt a vague sense of dread begin to wash over him. It was a cold, uncomfortable feeling. As if something had wrapped itself around his chest and begun to squeeze.

Dipper frowned to himself. Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford had been here. He could feel it. But...something had gone wrong. Looking up, his frown deepened. All of the trees surrounding the area had lost their leaves. Obviously, they had all fallen to the ground, which was why the area was covered in them.

But all of the trees they had passed during their trek through the forest still had their leaves. And as he studied the trees that surrounded the area, they seemed...dried up. As if something had sucked the life out of them.

Dipper felt his chest tighten, as a familiar lump appeared in his throat.

 _'Calm down... We don't know anything yet. All we've found is an odd area and a magazine. It doesn't mean...'_ Dipper took a deep breath, as he repeated the words in his head. After giving himself a moment, he felt the tightness in his chest start to lighten up.

"Hey, everyone- What's say we all take a break? It's about lunch time, anyway," said Wendy.

Grenda immediately pumped her fist into the air. "YES! Lunch! Awesome!" she exclaimed.

The group quickly reassembled in the same area, as Soos spread out a pair of picnic blankets. One of them was red, and the other was covered in an odd black and white chevron pattern. Mabel and Waddles sat down on the red blanket and were quickly surrounded by Grenda, Candy, and Wendy.

Dipper quietly sat down on the chevron blanket, joined by Marius. The two boys sat awkwardly for a while, neither of them sure what to say to the other.

Soos sat down the enormous backpack he had been carrying and handed out Tupperware containers filled with sandwiches, the marshmallow slime concoction, and several bottles of water.

As the girls began to eat and talk among themselves, Soos sat down with Dipper and Marius. "Don't worry, dudes. Mel' and I made a whole bunch of them," he said, as he opened another container filled with sandwiches.

Dipper and Marius took a few sandwiches and quietly ate them while Soos seemed to get lost in an anecdote about not making ham sandwiches so as to avoid offending Waddles.

Meanwhile, the girls' conversation seemed to have moved on to the subject of boys.

"Are you dating anyone, Wendy?" asked Mabel, between bites of a jellybean and chili sandwich. Something of her own creation.

"No, not at the moment. I broke with Brad. And Chad. And Vlad... And... Thad. I think-... Was his name Thad? He was dressed up as mime all the time, so I didn't really catch his name..." said Wendy.

Grenda leaned in closer with wide, sparkling eyes. "Wooow... Wendy, how did you get so popular with boys? I know I have Marius and all, but I've always wondered what it'd be like to be super, duper popular..." she said.

Wendy gave a light chuckle. "I'm not super popular, or even duper popular. I just date a lot," she said.

"Yeah, but what's your secret? Do you have, like, one of those 'seductress spells' or something?" asked Grenda.

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Uh... No. I just talk to them. That's all. I mean, sometimes it can be hard to tell if a guys a creep or not... But, you know..." she trailed off, as she noticed that Grenda, Mabel, and Candy had all drawn much closer to her. Curiosity sparkling in their eyes.

Wendy gave a fake cough, before deciding to shift the spotlight.

"Uh, so what about you girls? You found anyone special?" asked Wendy. Grenda opened her mouth to say something, only to be suddenly interrupted by Wendy. "We already know about you and Marius, Grenda..."

Grenda gave a disappointed sigh. "Aw... I wanted to brag..."

Candy quietly adjusted her glasses, before gesturing to Mabel. Apparently indicating that she should go first.

Mabel gave a nervous laugh. "Well...I kinda went on a couple of dates with this one guy..." she said. "But, I dunno...it didn't work out. He was kinda obsessed with playing air-guitar. And he did it all the time. In the middle of a restaurant...in the middle of class...while we were holding hands...he'd make all the sounds with his mouth while he played. He was pretty good, actually..."

"Huh...well, what about you, Candy?" asked Wendy to the Korean girl.

"Oh, well...I have not really found the right person...I tried asking out this cute guy from my class...but he turned out to just be a bunch of gnomes in a trench coat." said Candy.

Mabel put a solemn hand on her shoulder. "I've been there..." she muttered.

"That kind of scared me away from guys for a little while...but then I met another boy in the library. He seems nice. We talk online every now and then." said Candy.

Wendy smiled. "Aw...that's sweet," she said.

Candy nodded as she smiled. "Yeah...he's very knowledgeable on certain things...like books, for example."

"Oooh, what kind of books?" Mabel said in interest.

"Well, he likes the paranormal stories...as well as mysteries...and sometimes horror." Candy explained.

"Hmm..." Mabel looked thoughtful as she put a hand on her chin. "That sounds almost like my Bro...well, except for the horror part. He can stomach a horror novel, but not those yucky movies with too much gore."

"Hey, those are the best kind of horror movies in my opinion," Wendy said as she unscrewed a water bottle.

Candy flushed a tiny bit. "No, no, it's not Dipper. This is a different guy. I moved on from your brother...no offense, Mabel."

Mabel sighed. "Nah, it's okay Candy. I just wish my Bro-Bro has someone."

"Really?" Wendy said after taking a gulp of water. "You mean Dip hasn't gotten someone special yet?"

"Well...I can't talk about his love life, but...well, I'll just say he really is a good guy, and he really deserves to be with someone special." Mabel said, a little saddened.

Wendy frowned. "Ah man...I'm sorry, Mabel."

Grenda and Candy frowned as well. It was then Candy said. "Don't worry Mabel. Your brother is gonna have someone wonderful one of these days."

"Yeah...I know..." Mabel then glanced up at Wendy. "Are you sure you don't have like any new feelings for my Bro or not?"

Wendy was about to drink her water when Mabel asked that question, which she was glad she didn't or else she would've choked on the liquid when she asked that. "Say what now?"

Mabel looked back at her brother who was sitting on the other blanket, eating his sandwich. She glanced back at Wendy and sheepishly shrugged. "Just want to make sure..."

Wendy blinked at the young girl and smiled sweetly. "Ah Mabes...even though your bro _has_ gotten cuter,"

Mabel looked up at her with hope.

"...He's still like a little bro to me. It would seem kind of... _weird_ to now date him while thinking him that way and all that, you know?"

Mabel frowned in understanding and looked down. "Yeah...I know..."

"But hey! I have no doubt in my mind Dipper's gonna find that right girl! Who knows? Maybe he'll meet her in Gravity Falls!"

Mabel glanced back up and gave Wendy a small smile. "Yeah...that's a very good possibility."

Wendy nodded with a smirk. "You're a good sister, Mabe."

"I agree wholeheartedly on that!" Candy said with a smile while putting a hand on Mabel's shoulder.

"Absolutely! Besides, you're like, the greatest matchmaker ever! I'm sure you could bag a girl for Dipper in no time!" Grenda assured.

Mabel smiled big that time. "Thanks, girls! Just _please_ don't tell Dipper I mentioned this to you all."

"Hey, no problem," Wendy reassured. "We aren't tattle-tells, right girls?"

"Nope!" Candy and Grenda said in unison.

As the girls' conversation moved away from the subject of boys, Soos had just finished regaling Dipper and Marius with another story about Melody.

"-and so it turns out she's a really amazing artist. So now she's always comin' up with new stuff for the Shack. Exhibits, merchandise- you name it! She's a total natural." he said, with a proud smile.

Dipper gave him a slow nod. "That's great, Soos...but you already told us that whole story," he said.

Soos scratched his head. "Oh...did I? Sorry, dudes. Hey, how about we change the subject? Have you two got girlfriends or anything?" he asked.

"Yes. I am dating Grenda," said Marius.

"Oh, yeah! That's super sweet. You two are like, childhood sweethearts or somethin'." said Soos.

Marius gave a happy nod. "Yes...Grenda is a beautiful and strong woman...honestly, she is much like the person I always secretly wished to be. So bold. Unafraid to stand up and be heard. She truly is something special. I am very lucky to be with her." he said.

Soos chuckled. "Yeah, I know the feeling. What about you, Dipper? Did you meet any girls back in Piedmont?"

Dipper stared down at his sandwich for a moment, and slowly shook his head. "Um...no," he said.

Soos blinked. "Oh...really?" he asked.

Dipper nodded. "...Yeah. Girls, uh...girls don't _technically_ like me. I mean, to be fair, not almost anyone does. I kinda...have a reputation at school. You know...that 'Creepy Kid', 'Creepy Weirdo', or even the occasional 'Creepy Freak'. That kinda thing. I, uh...I tried to make some friends...I mean, I think I tried. But I just...can't seem to connect with anybody...y'know?"

Soos stared at Dipper for a moment. Then, he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know what that's like, dude. It's okay. You're awesome. Like, on a list of the best people, your waaay up there. So, you know...you'll find someone. Someone you can have that connection with. Whether it's with a friend, or a girlfriend, or whatever...'till then, you know you've got us, right?"

Dipper smiled a little. "...Sure. Thank you, Soos."

"Mister Dipper...if it is worth anything...I still remember the night you and Pacifica saved my life, among many. You have my utmost respect for that." said Marius. "Perhaps...this is being a 'weird' way to do this, but...I would be honored to count you as a friend."

"Uh...sure, Marius. And hey, if there's anything I learned last summer, it's that there's no such thing as a 'weird' way to make friends." said Dipper.

Marius smiled. "Yes...I can certainly agree," he said.

"By the way, that whole thing at the Northwest Mansion...well, that was all Pacifica. She broke that crazy woodsman curse all on her own," said Dipper.

"Is that so..." said Marius, as he trailed off in thought. "You know...I have known Miss Northwest for some time. My family has gone to each other's parties several times. Whenever I saw her...well, she was just everyone else. Wearing the fake smile...but that night, I feel as though I saw her for the first time. When she was with you."

Marius gave Dipper a knowing look, but Dipper didn't seem to notice what he was hinting at.

"Yeah...me too," said Dipper, with a small smile. As he remembered that night almost a year ago, he couldn't help but recall the last time he had seen Pacifica in person. During the 'Welcome Back' party.

Dipper frowned a little. Something had been...off. She seemed like she was in a hurry. Like something was wrong. Dipper bit into his sandwich as his frown deepened. ' _...I hope everything's okay with her...'_ he thought.

Soos finished eating another sandwich and yawned. "Hey, do any of you dudes know any kind of interesting stories?" he asked. "Might as well occupy ourselves while we sit here."

Dipper turned his head to Soos. "Like what kind?"

"Oh you know, like...maybe spooky stories. I feel like we're in the right atmosphere for it, and even though it's not nighttime, which I'm...kind of glad it isn't, we can still tell them. Besides, telling spooky stories in the daytime is not as scary as it is in the nighttime." Soos elaborated.

Thinking if there were any stories that are worth talking about, Dipper shrugged and said. "Nope, can't think of any...well, if I count the time Mabel tried to pass Mabel-Juice as a fruit punch without the toy dinosaurs in it..." he shuddered. "Ugh...that stuff is concocted by the worse kind of sugar overdose _ever._ "

"Hey, I hear ya. Much as I like sugary stuff, that stuff is like a bomb waiting to explode in your taste buds...and not in a good way." Soos paused. "Uh...don't tell Mabel I said that, please."

"Hey, no worries, I won't. I just hope this whole culinary kick that she has will come to pass." Dipper said.

Marius, who was confused by what this 'Mabel-Juice' contains but decided to not go into it, spoke up. "Um...I am thinking I might have a...er...'spooky story'...that I could tell..." said Marius.

"Really? Cool! Is it one of those Australian folk tales? Like the frog that swallowed the swamp...or the one about the kangaroo that gets released from a puzzle-box to drag people into a realm of untold suffering?" asked Soos.

Both Dipper and Marius gave Soos a blank look.

"What? You guys never seen the 'Rooraiser' movies? They're really scary. Later, they did whole crossover thing with 'Koala-Face', but it was kinda lame..." said Soos.

Marius paused for a moment. "Er, _no_...I am from 'Austria'...not ' _Australia_ '..." he said.

"Oh...is that...is that like a smaller version Australia? Is that what they call that little island thing that's always hanging around near the bottom there?" asked Soos.

"Er... _n_ _o_...I-I mean... Austria is _smaller_ than Australia, but..." said Marius, looking more than a little befuddled.

Dipper seemed to sense that the conversation was steering off track and quickly cleared his throat to get their attention. "You were saying you had a story, Marius?" asked Dipper, hoping to avoid having to give Soos another geography lesson.

"Oh! Um, yes, thank you Mister Dipper," said Marius. "I think I do."

"Well, what're you waitin' for dude? Lay it on us!" exclaimed Soos.

Marius nodded, as he rubbed his chin in thought. "When I was a little boy...mein grandmother...she would always read to me from a very old book. Every night, after I had settled into bed...mein grandmother would read to me from the book. Every story was always being very different... Sometimes, they were about people...other time, they would be about animals...or magical creatures..." he said. "...I always loved the stories about magical creatures the most..."

As Marius spoke, Dipper slowly rubbed his eyes. The trek had made him more tired than he thought. Taking a long, deep breath, Dipper looked up at the sky. The sun had been covered by a patch of dark clouds, casting a shadow across the entire forest.

"There were many stories about these creatures...many of them...were sad. I always used to wonder why, if magic existed...why they still struggled so much to find happiness. Of course, many of them were also quite scary. Mein grandmother always seemed to delight in these tales. She always seemed to have a thirst for the feeling of terror...one that I do not share." continued Marius.

Dipper stared up at the sky for a while, feeling a cold wind brushed against his face. His eyelids slowly began to feel heavier and heavier.

"I remember one story...a long time ago, there was a curious child. This child was well known in the small town he lived in...his curiosity was said to have brought him close to some of the greatest negative feelings and terrors in the world. It was said...that a piece of these feelings and horrors seemed to stay with him. Transforming him..."

Dipper frowned a little. He could already feel himself starting to drift off, and he was doing his best to keep himself from doing so.

"The townsfolk were scared. Afraid that the boys curious habits would soon bring negativity to their town and their homes. And so...the townsfolk summoned a creature...a creature they had hoped...would cure the boy of his curiosity. A 'discipline fairy'. A creature tasked with _correcting_ naughty children..."

Dipper rubbed his eyes and took a slow breath as he shifted his eyes from the sky to the forest.

"The townsfolk hoped to help not just themselves, but the boy as well. If the boy's behavior was corrected, the boy might become...normal. The discipline fairy took him to the woods, in the middle of the night...when the townsfolk asked if the boy had been cured, the discipline fairy said yes. And the boy...was never seen again."

All of a sudden, Dippers eyes shot open as a loud scream rang through the air. Leaping to his feet, Dipper instinctively ran towards the source of the scream. His heart thumping loudly in his chest, as alarm bells rang in his head.

Someone was in danger.

Hearing the scream again, Dipper felt a burst of adrenaline course through his veins as he ran climbed over the bushes and came face to face with the source of the scream.

Gideon Gleeful pulled at his white puffy hair as he gave a frustrated growl. "AAAAARRGH! HOW IS THERE ANOTHER DANG BOSS AFTER THAT ONE! Why do final bosses keep comin' back like that? You learned your dang lesson, didn't ya? Why do you keep comin' back for more!? I swear, if you use another healin' spell..."

Dipper stared blankly as Gideon fiddled with a handheld video-game console. "Y'all 're just tryin' to test my patience, ain't ya? Ain't ya!? Ya like doin' this to me, game? Don't you think I'm above settin' a video-game on fire outta spite! 'Cuz I ain't!" growled Gideon.

Dipper opened his mouth for a moment and paused. Eventually, Dipper was able to find words again. "Uh...what-...what are you doing?" he asked.

Gideon spared Dipper a glance and then turned his attention back to the video-game. "What's it look like? I'm playin' Adzel: Quest of Uselessness. And it's tryin' my _patience_." he muttered, angrily.

"You...you were screaming because of a _video-game_?" asked Dipper, looking bewildered.

"Yeah. Why do you think I'm out here in the forest? To play games and practice magic tricks. Just like I do every Monday." said Gideon.

Dipper simply stood there for a little while longer. A flood of embarrassment and frustration swirling around in his mind, as he watched Gideon fiddle with the game.

Eventually, Gideon put the game away in his jacket with a huff. Then, he picked up a large blue trunk from beside the tree and opened it. After pulling out a magicians top hat and putting it on his head, Gideon picked up a wand and a cape.

"I-...I heard a loud scream! I thought someone was in danger!" Dipper exclaimed.

Gideon gave an obnoxious snort as he tied his cape around his neck. "So you just came runnin'? What's the matter with you? What if I had been in trouble? Like, if I was gettin' eaten by some big pile of tentacles and teeth? What would you have done?" he asked.

Dipper blinked. "I-...well, I'd try and help!" he said.

Gideon rolled his eyes. "Really? That's what you'd do? What, you consider yourself some kinda hero or somethin'?" he asked.

Dipper frowned. " _No_." he said. "Of course not."

Gideon huffed. "Sure you don't..." he muttered.

"Alright, whatever. I'm sorry I interrupted you. You keep hanging out all alone in the woods. I got stuff to do." said Dipper.

"Like what? Searchin' for _Stanford_? Or...whatever his name is..." asked Gideon.

Dipper frowned. "...Yeah. ...How did you know about that?" he asked.

Gideon shrugged. "Someone called and asked me to keep an eye out. So, I went out lookin' late last night," he said.

Dipper blinked. "Wa- Wait, you did?"

"Yeah. For Mabel," said Gideon, with a light shrug.

Dipper frowned. "...Okay..." he muttered. "Well...thanks, I guess."

"I brought all my magic stuff...'cuz I wanted to put on a show at the big 'Welcome Back' party. But then I heard that Corduroy girl talkin' about the thing with Stanford...I figured bringin' 'em back would be the best trick I could do. So...I came out here with some supplies. I tried a few spells...nothin' too fancy..." said Gideon.

Something about Gideon's demeanor seemed to change as he spoke. His face slowly relaxed into a cold, emotionless expression. And his voice seemed to grow distant with every word.

"I tried. I really, really tried. But...but I already knew that I wasn't gonna do it. I don't get to do 'hero' stuff like that. No matter how hard I try...to be better...it never works. Before too long, I just slip back into the old habits. Sneerin' at people...lookin' down at 'em..." said Gideon.

Gideon slowly turned to face Dipper. His expression blank. Betraying no emotion.

"...I'm not a good person. I know that. I wish I was better...but I'm not. And no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try... I just can't run away from who I am..."

All of a sudden, a flash of emotion brightened his face. Somewhat predictably, it was anger.

"That's dumb. All of that of stuff... it's just a bunch of stupid things you tell yourself when things get difficult." said Gideon. "It ain't about runnin' away...it's about accepting yourself, and tryin' to be a better person from there."

Dipper slowly rubbed his forehead. "Wha-...what are you _talking_ about?" he asked.

Gideon shrugged. "...It don't matter..." he muttered.

There was a long pause, as the wind swept across the forest. Dipper looked down at his hands, and then slowly turned his gaze back to Gideon.

"...This is a dream...isn't it?" he asked.

Gideon seemed to ignore him as he opened his mouth to speak."I stayed out 'till daybreak. I still had all my stuff with me. See, I was determined...to find him. 'Cuz... 'Cuz I wanted her to smile. At me. Just...just the idea of it...it felt outta reach. I guess it always was. Then-...then I found him."

Dipper froze, as Gideon gestured toward the tree behind him. Growing out from the base of the tree was the shape of Grunkle Stan. Made of wood, but shaped perfectly into Grunkle Stan's sleeping form. It was as if he and the tree had become one being.

"...I think...I think he's broken again..." muttered Gideon.

Dipper stared at Grunkle Stan, feeling his chest start to tighten.

"...Dipper...I-...I failed. And...and now...I'm...gone."

Gideon's voice lingered in the air, as everything around Dipper began to fade to black.

"...You have a connection. It's one we can share...but not too much. It didn't need that Stan...it only wanted the other one. ...Dipper...I...I gotta ask you for somethin'. Somethin'...I'd rather not ask in general. But...Dipper..."

"Help."

All of a sudden, Dipper was sitting on the picnic blanket again. Next to Soos and Marius. He blinked, as the sound of Gideon's voice faded from his ears. Quickly replaced by the sound of Soos' voice.

"Hey, dude? There somethin' wrong? You look kinda spaced out..." said Soos.

Dipper blinked, but didn't respond.

"Whoa, dude! Your scary story totally did a number on him! It's like he's scared _still_ or somethin'." said Soos.

All of a sudden, Dipper got to his feet. "Hey, everybody... Follow me. I-... I think I found something." he said, loud enough for the girls to hear as well.

Everyone else shared a look of concern, as they followed Dipper through a couple of bushes. They hadn't been walking for long before Waddles suddenly ran out ahead of them, snorting excitedly. It didn't take long for them to follow Waddles to a large tree.

Sitting at the base of the tree was Grunkle Stan. His eyes closed, breathing a gentle snore.

Waddles immediately raced up to him, and proceeded to stick his snout in his face. Grunkle Stan made a noise, as the pig pressed his entire body weight against him, before falling into his lap. This jostled him awake, just in time to be loudly glomped by Mabel.

"Grunkle Stan! You're okay!" she bellowed, her voice cracking a little as she hugged him with all her strength.

Grunkle Stan looked utterly bewildered, as he stared down at Mabel and then up at the group of people that had surrounded him.

"...Uh...I don't wanna make this awkward or nothin', but...who are you people?" he asked.

Everybody froze.

As Grunkle Stan scratched his head in confusion, Dipper noticed something sitting on the ground next to Grunkle Stan. It took him a while to recognize it.

Gideon's cape.

It was in tatters...and covered in dirt.

Dipper clenched his teeth, and muttered something under his breath.

"...Oh no..."

* * *

 **Just to let you know, me and Jack Coffison wrote certain parts. So thank Jack also! He's helping me big time! ;D**

 **But yeah, this was the third chapter! Tell Jack and I what you thought of it! We love to hear what you think! Review, follow, and fave if you want! :)**

 **Keep on rocking everybody! :D**

 **-TSP**


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